ELK GROVE, Calif. (Oct. 30, 2012) -- Rob Thompson is no stranger to NCGA senior majors. Before today’s final round Thompson had already six of them to his credit. Now he has seven.

His seventh, however, proved not to be easy as it came down to his final putt. On the 18th hole, tied with defending champion James Myers for the tournament lead, Thompson had a 40-foot birdie putt with Myers only three feet away for par. Having a good line on the putt, Thompson wanted to give it a chance to go in, but also didn’t want to ram it past the hole and three-putt to possibly lose the tournament.

“I thought I left it short, right in the heart, but then the ball kept trickling and trickling, and boom, [it went in],” said Thompson. “It was a great way to win the tournament.”

Having started the day with a share of the lead, Thompson’s final round two-under par 70 put him at even-par 144 for the tournament, giving him a one-stroke victory over Myers, who also fired a 70—bogey-free—to finish at 145.

Thompson felt especially fortunate to win considering his 40-foot putt may have turned out to be for a tie if it weren’t for Myers’ honesty. On the 10th hole after addressing his ball on the putting green, Myers ball slightly moved, so he called a one-stroke penalty on himself.

“The integrity of the game is unbelievable,” said Thompson. “His ball couldn’t have moved more than a fraction and he called a penalty on himself.”

Thompson, who is good friends with Myers and recruited him to play in this event last year—Myers is an SCGA member from Oceanside—was happy to reverse roles this year as he finished runner-up to Myers in 2011. However, he is quick to admit that there is a different dynamic in an event like this, where a fraternity of sorts is built amongst the players.

“The older we get the more we appreciate each other,” said Thompson, explaining that Myers was rooting for Thompson’s final putt to go in. “That’s the way we are, we root for each other. It’s kind of like a brotherhood.”

Finishing in a tie for third place was Ron Johnson of Walnut Creek and first-round co-leader Carl Cowan at 149. Johnson followed his first round 75 with a 74 on Tuesday, while Cowan followed his 74 with a 75. Coming back on the field to tie for fifth were Bob Olds, Donel Geisen and Terry Coffee, who each finished at 150. Olds followed his opening round 77 with a 73 on Tuesday, while Geisen and Coffee improved by two strokes, firing rounds of 74.

The site and date for the 2013 Super Senior Championship are yet to be determined.

ABOUT THE NCGA Super Senior

The Super Senior Championship was created in 2010 to
give golfers 65 and older their own championship.
Format is 36 holes of stroke play. Players must have
reached their 65th birthday by the start of the
tournament and have a numeric handicap index on
their club’s Master Report of 9.4 or less on the date of
registration.